


built from the ground up

by writing_way_too_much



Series: courage, my dear [2]
Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Music Store, Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Rated teen for language, Slice of Life, Ugh, everyone except jae and wonpil has a very minor part sorry, goddamnit me stop getting better, im kidding obviously, mother hen sungjin, no i don't know what the title means, the sungbri is still background but no longer implied woohoo, why do i like it better, why is this longer than what it's the sequel to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 13:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14497833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_way_too_much/pseuds/writing_way_too_much
Summary: “no, what--we’ve been on literally one date,” jae splutters.he doesn’t have to look to see dowoon’s eye roll. “then go on another one, hyung.”





	built from the ground up

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is the sequel to "make the first move," although i don't think i kept with the characterization very well. you'll probably want to read that one first but it isn't absolutely necessary.
> 
> disclaimer: this is completely fictitious, i own only the plot
> 
> enjoy!

“have you kissed him yet?”

“dowoonie, what the hell--”

dowoon smirks, leaning over the counter. “wonpil-hyung. have you kissed him yet?”

“no, what--we’ve been on literally one date,” jae splutters. 

he doesn’t have to look to see dowoon’s eye roll. “then go on another one, hyung.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


they go on a walk next to the river, wonpil loosely holding jae’s hand.

at first, jae thinks they won’t talk about anything. he’ll be awkward, and clam up, and say nothing, and his hand will be sweaty and wonpil will be disgusted and leave and tell him that he actually wants nothing to do with him, last week was a mistake, sorry--

“i can hear you overthinking this from here,” wonpil says when he rounds the corner. jae jumps a little and sticks his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“h--hi,” he stutters.

wonpil smiles gently at him, and it should be condescending and snobbish, but it’s kind of the exact opposite. “hello! couldn’t get enough of me, i see.”

“you were the one that scheduled this,” jae argues, feeling his shoulders loosen.

“mhmm, but you were the one that agreed.”

wonpil’s ability to chatter endlessly works perfectly with jae’s habit of not speaking for hours at a time. he talks about the newest video games and science fiction books and his new coworkers and how nice the older couple that own the bookstore are to him. jae mostly focuses on not falling into the river.

when wonpil slips his fingers between jae’s, carefully, letting him back out if he wants to, jae doesn’t stop him.

and holding hands, walking by the river, watching the city?

it’s nice.

  
  
  
  


they watch a fireworks display downtown.

“i didn’t even know they  _ did  _ fireworks in november,” jae says, squinting in confusion at the poster announcing it. “are you sure this isn’t just a prank, pil-ah?”

he’s developed the nickname through a lot of texting. almost constant. sungjin affectionately tells him to set his phone down. jae, a bit less affectionately, tells him to go make out with brian some more.

“no, there are posters everywhere,” wonpil replies, snapping jae’s attention back to the present. “would i really bring you to a phony fireworks display?”

“i dunno,” jae mumbles, digging his chin into his scarf. it’s the very last day of november and the sun’s gone down. “you could actually be a serial killer and have just been playing nice and now i’m about to be ritualistically murdered in a sketchy alleyway.”

wonpil honest-to-god giggles, which jae could listen to for the rest of his life and never be bored with. “hyung, i’m not gonna murder you. i like you too much for that.”

jae doesn’t even try to fight the grin taking over his face.

“i especially like it when you smile,” wonpil whispers, and it seems like he’s stretching up on his tiptoes, and  _ oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck is he gonna kiss me? no no no no-- _

jae quickly backs away, tries not to let the confusion in wonpil’s eyes hurt him. “i--let’s just go.”

he does hold wonpil’s hand and let him curl up on his shoulder while colored gunpowder shoots across the sky, so he hopes he’s forgiven.

  
  
  
  
  


they eat street food from as many vendors as they can find.

“i’m going to gain twenty pounds,” wonpil groans. jae hands him a container of fried chicken.

“worth it,” he says, diving into his own chicken.

they eat it standing still, which attracts more than a few dirty looks, but jae doesn’t care because he is in  _ heaven  _ right now.

“okay, that was the best thing i’ve ever eaten,” wonpil says, licking chicken grease off of his fingers.

jae makes some kind of noise in assent, mouth still full. wonpil bursts out laughing at the sight of him, and he would be offended if the look in wonpil’s eyes wasn’t so fond.

  
  
  
  
  
  


they watch more sunrises, and sunsets, and the sky at midday, and rainstorms.

“it’s so pretty outside.”

jae jumps, knocking over a basket of drumsticks. he swears under his breath as he kneels down to pick them up. “jeez, pil-ah, you scared the crap out of me.”

“sorry,” wonpil says, not sounding at all sorry. he’s wearing a raincoat, and he accidentally flicks jae with water as he takes it off and hangs it up.

“why are you here? it’s pouring rain,” jae says, finally getting the last drumstick in place. “you’re gonna catch a cold, pillie.”

“nah. i’m invincible. what, i can’t visit my boyfriend at work?”

jae manages to wheedle a ten-minute break out of his manager, and he and wonpil sit in the window seat at the front of the store, surrounded by pianos, watching the rain.

  
  
  
  
  


they watch scary movies and wonpil hides his face in jae’s shoulder.

“you really should have just told me that this would be too scary for you,” jae says amusedly, pausing the horror film he’s got playing on netflix. it’s one of his personal favorites. he hates seeing wonpil so scared, but the extra cuddles kind of make up for it.

“nonsense, hyung,” wonpil says, voice muffled by the way his face is pressed into jae’s hoodie. “i am a strong, independent man who can handle things. manly man things.”

“we can just watch something else,” jae offers.

“well, if you insist,” wonpil mutters. he still scoots closer to jae, tucking himself more firmly into jae’s side.

jae pretends not to notice just how relieved wonpil is when he switches it to disney movies with korean subtitles. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


they go out to eat and almost get kicked out of restaurants for laughing too loudly and “disturbing the other customers.”

“my sincerest and most profound apologies,” wonpil says, dead serious. jae snickers but is smart enough to hide it behind his hand.

the fourth time this happens, sungjin texts both of them at the same time.  _ stop getting kicked out of restaurants, dumbasses. _

“how does he even know about that?” jae wonders to wonpil, who types and sends those exact words.

_ omnipotent _

_ seriously, just don’t be stupid _

it’s a lot harder to remember to not be stupid when wonpil is sitting across from him, mirth in his eyes, coming up with terrible puns that don’t even make sense, flicking bits of his water at jae, and jae’s heart just feels too full to keep it all inside.

the owner very kindly tells them not to come back.

jae and wonpil are still doubled over in laughter when sungjin comes to take them home.

  
  
  
  


they have an impromptu sleepover one friday night. wonpil showing up at the music store just before jae closes it down and insisting on coming over with an entire case of mountain dew. jae doesn’t sleep the entire night, too hyped up on caffeine and trying to beat wonpil at mario kart. it’s worth it to see wonpil sleepy and giggly.

wonpil shows up at the music store just as jae starts closing down. “guess what we’re doing tonight?”

jae really hopes they aren’t going out. it’s been a long day and he’s tired.

“i’m bringing an entire case of mountain dew, twelve whole cans, over to your apartment and we’re gonna stay up all night and talk about weird philosophical things when we’re stupid tired at three in the morning,” wonpil says. he’s grinning so widely. jae’s gaze darts to his lips and then back up.

“do i get a choice in this?”

wonpil beams even brighter, if such a thing were possible. “nope!”

it’s worth it, though, because they order pizza and accidentally drink all of the mountain dew and create a new sims 4 world and play a thousand rounds of mario kart. jae is sure his neighbors hate him, but he still hasn’t managed to beat wonpil once.

they crawl into bed when the sun peeks over the horizon. wonpil is sleepy and finds everything absolutely hilarious. he can’t stop giggling, and if jae were braver, he’d lean over and shut wonpil up with a kiss, but that just seems too impossible.

instead, he lies down next to him and spoons him and if they wake up at four in the afternoon to a very disappointed park sungjin, so what?

  
  
  
  


they have nights where wonpil tries to teach jae how to make a kind of complicated dish his mother makes all the time, which ends disastrously.

“the smoke alarm is going to go off!” jae shouts, coughing. wonpil calmly opens the window above the sink and fans the smoke out.

“see, no problem, hyung,” he says. jae furiously scrubs the pan clean of all burnt remains, afraid to see the look on wonpil’s face.

however, when he looks up, wonpil isn’t angry, or disappointed, or any of those things. instead, he’s smiling gently at jae, because kim wonpil is the literal fucking sun. jae is pretty sure he doesn’t know how not to smile.

“it’s okay, hyung, it really is.”

jae doesn’t believe him until wonpil’s holding him, on the couch, ordering takeout with one hand and rubbing circles into jae’s back with the other. “no harm, no foul.”

“your mother would be furious,” jae manages.

wonpil laughs.

  
  
  
  
  


still, they haven’t kissed.

when it happens, it’s rather anticlimactic.

jae gets off work early and heads over to the bookstore. he manages to sneak up on wonpil, who’s humming to himself as he fixes the children’s section. an obviously excitable toddler is leaving with her mother, and jae snorts inwardly.

he moves forward and covers wonpil’s eyes from behind.

“guess who?” he singsongs.

“hmm,” wonpil says, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice. “i wonder who this could possibly be.”

“it’s so difficult, isn’t it,” jae teases.

wonpil takes jae’s hands off of his eyes, turns around, rolls his eyes. “you’re such a dork.”

and then they’re kissing.

jae’s never kissed anyone before--that’s why he’s been so hesitant--but this feels okay, this feels good, this feels correct and right and true. this feels like it’s where he needs to be.

“we’re going to scar the children,” jae says when the kiss ends, which, to be honest, is a lot sooner than he wants it to be. whatever. they’ve got years ahead of them.

“who cares?” wonpil says. his forehead is resting against jae’s and he’s freaking smirking.

“i certainly don’t,” jae says, leaning in to kiss him again.

  
  
  
  
  
  


they first say it on a night that they actually get to bed early for once.

“g’night, hyung,” wonpil mumbles, the side of his face smushed into the pillow. he’s turned towards jae, eyes closing. even in his state of drowsiness he reaches out for jae.

“g’night, pil-ah. i love you,” jae replies absentmindedly, lying down properly and turning off his bedside lamp. he rolls onto his side and moves to pull wonpil into the curve of his body, but wonpil is frozen.

“what’s wrong?” jae asks, too tired to be really worked up.

“you just--”

“what did i--oh. oh, uh, i’m sorry, it just slipped out, wonpil, um--”

“shut up, idiot,” wonpil says, but he doesn’t sound derisive at all. “i love you as well. oh, my god, jae, i love you so freaking much--”

“i love you,” jae whispers, testing out the words on his tongue.

energy seems to surge back into wonpil. he crawls on top of jae, kissing everywhere he can reach. “i love you, i love you, i love you,” he says.

jae laughs, kissing back blindly, reaching out for wonpil. he’ll never get enough of him. “love you so much,” he says, finally finding wonpil’s mouth with his own.

they fall asleep tangled in the sheets and each other’s arms.

  
  
  
  


“you know,” jae starts, and then stops, mouth still open, no sound coming out.

wonpil finishes rearranging the bookshelf and peers around the corner. “what, hyung? cat got your tongue?”

“it would--would you want--”

“would i want what?” wonpil asks patiently.

“move in with me?” jae tries. “i mean, you’re at my place more often than yours, and i think my closet is mostly your clothes, and you cook all my meals--”

“well, duh,” wonpil says.

his manager doesn’t even give him a warning when she finds the two of them kissing, deep in the nonfiction section.

  
  
  
  
  


they take a thousand pictures. pictures of wonpil smiling, of jae burrowed deep into his coat, of their linked hands, of them kissing, of the terrible bleached-blond hair jae ends up with once, of the dog they adopt from a shelter, of the engagement ring on wonpil’s finger. of everything.

dowoon rolls his eyes when he sees the sort of shrine jae’s accidentally built to their relationship. it consists of pictures strung up between small white fairy lights, dates and small cutesy notes written on the back. “could you guys be any more couple-y?”

“oh, hush,” sungjin says. they’re all gathered in jae and wonpil’s apartment and he’s just surfaced from making out with brian. “let them be in love.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! comments and kudos make me smile <3
> 
> hmu on tumblr @bestfluteninja
> 
> please let me know if there are any grammatical errors, i'm kinda tired and have to read 40 pages of my language arts novel before i get to sleep
> 
> this could either be the last in the series or i could write one about their wedding day. lemme know~


End file.
